Ben Gvir's Visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque Prompts Rejection

The Arab and Islamic countries strongly condemned the visit that the Israeli National Security Minister, the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, made on Tuesday to the Esplanade of the Mosques of Jerusalem.

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The Arab League, made up of 22 countries, held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for "the consequences of these far-right practices and plans and their repercussions on Palestine, the region and world peace, including the possibility of unleashing a religious war."

The visit "occurs in the context of the beginning of the implementation of the extremist program and the settlement agenda of the Netanyahu government, with all that this program implies in terms of igniting the situation in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories in a very dangerous way," the Arab League Secretary Ahmed Abulgheit stressed.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which encompasses 57 states, also condemned Ben Gvir's provocation and urged the international community to "put an end to those Israeli violations that would fuel religious conflict, extremism and instability."

Saudi Arabia, a country with which Netanyahu aspires to reach an understanding similar to those signed with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, pointed out that the visit of Ben Gvir constitutes a "provocative practice" that hinders international peace efforts in the Middle East.

Israeli National Security Minister's visit was also condemned by Jordan and Egypt, two countries that signed peace deals with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively.

The Esplanade of Mosques is sacred to Muslims as it houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, where worshipers believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is also sacred to the Jews because they believe that the Second Temple was built on that site.